So this weekend we are headed out east for yet another funeral. My husband’s side of the family has had many of them the past years. Some would be seen as tragic, some would be seen as blessed relief from extreme suffering. They are ...
Aging parents
Hitherto
My father-in-law died this week, a little more than a year since my mother-in-law passed. The year without his beloved Rose Marie was torture for him. He spoke of her often and of his desire to be united with her. He left peacefully on a Tuesday ...
Lullabies and Groaning
The hospital is a crazy place of beginnings and endings. This one has a tradition of playing Lullaby over the public announcement system every time a new baby is born. The tune is in sharp contrast to the groans and grimaces of my father-in-law. ...
Saying Good Bye to My Mother-in-Love
This time she broke her hip. Although she was in a ritzy assisted-living facility, the ravages of Alzheimer’s had taken her balance, her wit, her sense and ultimately, her dignity. My husband drove the six hours to get there and ...
What it looks like near the end
My in-laws are in their mid-eighties. I've known them longer than I knew my own parents who died when I was a teen. I call them Mom and Dad and they have lovingly filled a gaping hole my own own heart. In recent visits, they would ask ...